Teacher
"What are your dreams for the future? Since this is the last year of elementary school for all of you, now's a good time to decide."
My teacher asked all of us one day, before the end of class. I raised my hand and waved it back and forth as fast as I could, so she would notice me.
Teacher
"... Yes Sérgio, what is it?"
Sérgio
"I want to be a superhero!"
The whole class burst into laughter.
Sérgio
Jeez... I don't get what's so funny!
Teacher
"S-settle down, everyone..."
Kylade
"You're so childish, Sérgio! Heh!"
Kylade shouted from his seat.
Sérgio
"Shut up! I don't get why everyone thinks my dream sounds silly. I just want to stop the bad guys and help people!"
Teacher
"You don't have to be a superhero to do that."
Sérgio
"Really?"
Teacher
"There are a lot more realistic ways you could help people, without having to use superpowers. What do you want to be to do that?"
Sérgio
"Hm..."
Sérgio
"... I don't know. I just want to be a superhero!"
Everyone started laughing again.
Sérgio
Gah, stop laughing at me!
--
Jemily
"That was really funny, Sérgio! You had the whole class in tears today!"
My best friend, Jemily, said to me as we left school, once our lessons were done for the day.
Sérgio
"Funny?! I was being completely serious, y'know!"
Jemily
"I know, I know. You've told me a bunch of times already."
Kylade
"You're too short to be a superhero, Sérgio. Heh."
Kylade said, walking behind us.
Sérgio
"I'm not short, you're just freakishly tall."
Kylade
"Jealous much?"
Jemily
"Enough bro, stop teasing him."
Jemily
"Sérgio does have a point though; maybe you should try out for the middle school's basketball team next year."
Kylade
"I bet I could join any of the sports teams. I'm awesome like that."
Sérgio
Even though I don't want to admit it, I can't say he's wrong...
Sérgio
"By the way Jemily, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Jemily
"I want to be a doctor. Just like my dad."
Sérgio
"Wow, that's a really great dream! It's way more mature than mine or Kylade's..."
Kylade
"Hey, don't group me with you, shrimp."
--
After school, I hurried home to watch my favorite show, as usual.
Bank Pirate
"Gargh! I be stealin' from this here bank! Arrrgh!"
Said the evil pirate villain from my show. A man that happened to be passing by hid in a barrel in fear of the bank pirate.
Man
"No! Someone stop him!"
Bank Pirate
"Argh! No one can stop the Bank Pirate! Gar har harrrgh!"
???
"... Not so fast, evildoer!"
Bank Pirate
"Gasp! Jalapeño Man!?"
Jalapeño Man
"That's right! It is I, Jalapeño Man, the spicy smiter of evil!"
He shouted, jumping down from the building he was on top of.
Jalapeño Man
"Now hand over the money you've stolen, or things might get hot for you!"
Bank Pirate
"Never! Arrrgh!"
Bank Pirate took out a pistol.
Bank Pirate
"Cower in fear! This here be the Bank Pirate Pistol!"
Jalapeño Man
"Looks like an ordinary gun to me."
Bank Pirate
"Arrrgh! It be not! Now feel its wrath!"
He shot at Jalapeño Man with the pistol, but he used his fire powers to melt the bullet and even the pistol Bank Pirate was holding.
Jalapeño Man
Sérgio
"Ha! You should know better than to shoot at Jalapeño Man!"
I said along with him, already having seen this episode a bunch of times before.
Bank Pirate
"You haven't seen the last o' me! Garrrgh!"
Bank Pirate yelled, running away.
Jalapeño Man
"And the spicy smiter of evil, Jalapeño Man, saves the day again!"
He said, then the show ended.
Sérgio
"Jalapeño Man is sooo cool! I wish I had powers like him so I could be a superhero too!"
Sérgio
"... But I know that's not possible..."
After my show, I ate dinner and took a bath. Then I went to bed, sad. My mom and dad asked me what was wrong, but I decided not to tell them.
Sérgio
"I'll never be a superhero, will I...?"
Sérgio
Of course not, superpowers will never actually exist. No matter how much I want them to...
--
Sérgio Burning... Fire... Hot!
All of a sudden, my whole body was on fire! But...
Sérgio ... That's weird, it doesn't hurt. It's almost like it's a part of me now...
--
Sérgio
"Ungh... Huh?"
I woke up.
Sérgio
"What a weird dream. What was that all about?"
Mom "Sérgio, sweetie, it's time for breakfast!"
My mom called from the kitchen.
Sérgio
"Coming, mom!"
I got out of bed, got dressed, and went to go eat.
Mom
"What's the matter, sweetie? Have a bad dream?"
Sérgio
"More like a weird one."
Mom
"Oh? What was it about?"
Sérgio
"I don't remember much... All I remember is 'fire'."
Mom
"Fire?"
Sérgio
"Yeah. I don't know why I'd have a dream about that..."
Mom
"Maybe it's because of that show you like to watch?"
Sérgio
"Yeah, that's probably it."
Sérgio
But for some reason, I feel like there's more to it than that...
... After I ate, I hurried to school. But on the way there, I started to feel strange.
Sérgio
"I feel so hot... I wonder why?"
I looked up at the sky, at the CS World's sun.
Sérgio
"Nova must be shining with extra brightness today..."
??? "Hey, Sérg!"
I turned around to see who called out to me.
Sérgio
"Oh, morning Kylade... Sure is hot today, huh?"
Kylade
"Huh? Not really. Besides, you of all people shouldn't be bothered by the heat."
Sérgio
"Yeah, you're right. It's nothing."
But it wasn't nothing, 'cause it got worse later that day...
--
Math Teacher
"Now, if you multiply 4 and 5, you get 20. So, what do you get when you multiply 5 and 6? Anyone?"
I raised my hand.
Math Teacher
"Oh, this is quite the surprise! You want to answer, Sérgio?"
Sérgio
"It's hot in here. Can you turn on the air conditioning?"
Almost everyone in class burst into laughter, much to my annoyance.
Math Teacher
"It is on, Sérgio... Now would someone else like to take this lesson seriously and actually answer the question?!"
Jemily
"Sérgio, are you alright?"
Jemily, who was sitting right next to me, asked.
Sérgio
"It's so hot..."
Jemily placed her hand on my forehead.
Jemily
"Omigosh, you're burning up!"
She raised her hand to get the teacher's attention.
Jemily
"Teacher, Sérgio isn't feeling well. Can I take him to the nurse?"
Sérgio
I'm not sick...
Math Teacher
"Ah, sure. Go ahead."
Jemily
"Thank you."
Jemily grabbed my hand, and dragged me to the nurse's office.
--
Nurse
"You have a high fever. You should go home and rest."
Sérgio
"A fever? But I feel fine..."
Jemily
"I know you don't like to be sick Sérgio, but you'll get worse if you don't listen to the nurse."
Sérgio
"Alright, fine..."
But I'm not sick, it's just really hot today...
Even though I didn't feel sick, I decided to go home anyway (Jemily always gets really mad at me when I don't listen to her). She offered to walk home with me, but I told her I'd be fine.
Sérgio
But am I really? Just what is going on...?
Sérgio
"Nova, are you the one behind this? Are you trying to pull a prank or something?"
I reached my hand out to the sky.
Sérgio
"You're lucky you're so high up, or I'd show you..."
All of a sudden, everything became white for a second. Like I'd fainted or something, but only for a short while.
Sérgio
"Ah... What just happened?"
I noticed my hand was still raised. But something was wrong with it.
Sérgio
Hot... Burning?
Sérgio
"FIRE!!! MY HAND'S ON FIRE!!!"
I rapidly waved my hand around, trying to put out the fire.
Sérgio
What's going on? Why's this happening?!
Sérgio
Why... doesn't it hurt?
I stopped waving my hand and just stared at it.
Sérgio
"... Huh?"
Was the only thing I could think of to say. I continued to stare at it until the fire eventually went away.
Sérgio
"What... was that?"
Sérgio
Maybe I should tell someone about this...
--
Sérgio
"MOM!!!"
I yelled, bursting through the front door of my house.
Mom
"What is it, sweetie?"
My mom asked, surprised at my sudden shouting.
Sérgio
"S-something weird just happened to me! I..."
Mom
"Calm down, Sérgio."
She said to me calmly, grabbing me to stop me from moving around.
Mom
"Now tell me. What happened?"
Sérgio
"Well..."
I told her how I felt hot this morning, about going to the nurse, and about my hand burning from Nova.
Mom
"O-oh my goodness...! C-could it be...?"
Sérgio
"W-what is it, mom?"
???
"Hey, you two! I'm home early today!"
My dad shouted, suddenly coming in through the front door.
Mom
"Ribeiro! I have something exciting to tell you!"
Dad
"W-what is it?"
Mom
"Apparently Sérgio really did inherit my powers after all! Isn't that great?"
Dad
"W-what did you just say?!"
My dad was so surprised by the news, that he dropped everything he was holding.
Sérgio
"Inherited?! Does that mean you can make fire too, mom!?"
Mom
"Of course! You don't honestly think you could've possibly got them from someone as wimpy as your father, do you?"
Dad
"Well excuse me, dear..."
Mom
"It seems me teaching you some of my kicking techniques wasn't in vain after all!"
Sérgio
"... So, this means..."
Mom
"It means...?"
Sérgio
"... I can be a superhero!?"
Mom
"A superhero...?"
Dad
"He's taking this a lot better than I thought he would... I guess your fire isn't the only thing he inherited from you, Rhea."
Sérgio
"To be honest, I'm a little confused, though... Didn't you tell me that there was no such power like Jalapeño Man's?"
Mom
"I'm sorry I lied to you, sweetie. I thought you didn't have any powers, so I figured it was better if you lived a more normal life."
Dad
"I suppose that isn't really possible for you now, though..."
Sérgio
"So, can you tell me about my powers?"
Mom
"Of course. You and I are what's called an 'avian'."
Sérgio
"Avian? What's that?"
Mom
"All avians have wings, and a power of some sort. It's said avians are descendants of Spirit Guardian Sarjoun himself."
She explained to me, looking at my back and lifting up my shirt slightly.
Mom
"But it doesn't seem like yours have grown yet..."
Sérgio
"I'm going to have wings? So I'll be able to fly around and stuff?! That's awesome! I can't wait to tell Jemily!"
Dad
"Now, now. You can't tell anyone else about this, Sérgio."
Sérgio
"What? Why not...?"
Mom
"First of all, I think you need to know about the true nature of this world, first. It's not as normal as you think it is."
Sérgio
"Huh?"
Mom
"In almost every region there are many different kinds of people, with all kinds of abilities like me and you."
Sérgio
"T-there are other people with powers, too!?"
Mom
"Yes, that's right. A lot of them. Probably more than there are people without any powers."
Sérgio
"Seriously!? Then how come I haven't met anyone with any, then?"
Dad
"There are a few regions that still freely accept the fact that people have these powers, like the one your mom used to be from. But regions like the CS Region prefer they not be talked about. Anyone that comes here that has powers has to sign an agreement not to talk about them or use them in public."
Mom
"I don't think I had to write my signature that many times before I came to this region..."
Mom
"Anyway, with your power comes great responsibility. You should only use them when you feel you absolutely have to."
Sérgio
"B-but why?! It'd be so much more fun if I could use them whenever I want!"
Mom
"I agree, but your power can be dangerous. If you use it irresponsibly, something horrible might happen."
Sérgio
"Horrible?"
Mom
"Yes. I'm sure that's something even Jalapeño Man understands."
Sérgio
"Wait, Jalapeño Man is real?! And has actual powers?"
Mom
"... Um, most likely..."
Sérgio
"AWESOME!!!"
--
After that, I decided to go outside to try out my new powers.
Sérgio
So, how did I make fire appear on my hand again...?
Sérgio
"Ah, what does it matter? It's not like I can use them in public, anyways..."
Sérgio
If I can't show them to anyone, then how can I use them to help people? What's the point...?
Sérgio
"Isn't there someone out there who needs my help!?"
??? "Oh, but there is..."
An unfamiliar voice said to me. Obviously confused, I looked around for the source of the voice.
Sérgio
"W-who's there? Who are you?"
Voice "Come to me, child..."
All of a sudden, a weird, sparkly blue hole appeared in front of me.
Sérgio
"What is that!?"
Voice "Please enter. Your help is needed."
Sérgio
"My help?! Really?"
Sérgio
I'm not sure if going into this weird hole is a good idea, but this might be my chance to be a superhero at last!
I entered it without hesitation. When I went in, it felt like I had entered another room. Which is weird since I was just outside.
Sérgio
"What is this place?"
Voice "Welcome, child."
Said the voice from earlier. I looked up to see where the voice came from. She looked like nothing I had ever seen before, even on TV. She looked like a person, but was big and all blue (like the place I was in).
Sérgio
"W-who are you?!"
Crystana
"You may call me Crystana. Child, your power is needed to protect the CS Region from the approaching chaos."
She said to me in a more calming voice.
Sérgio
"M-me!? But I just..."
Crystana
"This concerns you as well. You see, the approaching chaos is in fact, your dark side."
Sérgio
"My... dark side?"
Crystana held up her hand, and another weird hole appeared.
It showed someone who looked just like me, but with darker hair, a weird mark on his forehead, and a kind of unhappy look on his face.
Crystana
"This is him. He holds an enormous power; a power no one can even fathom."
Sérgio
"And I'm supposed to stop him? How can I possibly beat someone like that?"
Sérgio
I want to use my powers to help people, but... This is crazy!
Crystana
"Do you not understand? Since he is your other half, you hold the same amount of power that he does. Possibly even more..."
Sérgio
"S-seriously?!"
Sérgio
But I don't feel that different from a normal person right now...
Crystana
"However, before you can stop that evil boy once and for all, you must be tested."
Sérgio
"Tested?"
Crystana
"You do not have enough experience to face him yet. So you must gain some."
Sérgio
"How do I do that?"
Crystana
"Have you heard of Serge Island?"
Sérgio
"Um... yeah? It's a place that only exists in legend, right?"
Crystana
"Yes; it is the home to many beings known as 'CSmon'. Only one with a pure heart can step foot on it. Because of that, it is very peaceful."
Sérgio
"I see..." I think mom talked about CSmon before, but I have no idea what they look like...
Crystana
"However, it seems that peace has begun to dwindle..."
Sérgio
"What?! Is it because of that evil me?"
Crystana
"There is an evil creature rampaging all over that island. Your first test... is to put a stop to the creature and restore peace to the island."
Sérgio
"But how? For one thing, I don't even know where it is..."
Crystana
"You need not worry about that. Just concentrate on doing your duty."
Sérgio
"Uh, okay?"
I said to her, having no idea how that would help me get there.
Crystana
"I wish you luck..."
Crystana held out her hand, waving it in a weird motion. Then everything started to spin.
Sérgio
"W-what's going on?! AHHH!!!"
--
A bright flash of light shined in my face. When it finally disappeared, I saw something I wasn't expecting.
Sérgio
"Sand... Trees... Ocean? Where am I?"
I noticed a sign with sand covering the letters on it. I rubbed the sand off and read it.
"Welcome to Serge Island!" It said on the sign.
Sérgio
"W-what?! How did I end up here?"
Sérgio
Did Crystana teleport me here or something? I've seen some shows where the hero is transported to a bunch of different places to save the innocent citizens from bad guys...
Sérgio
Wow, it's like I'm a real superhero now!
Sérgio
"So, first things first, I need to find that evil beast she told me about, right?"
I climbed up some big rocks leading to the upper area of the island. Up there I saw a field full of the most beautiful green grass I'd ever seen in my life! And there were a lot unfamiliar creatures (which I figured were CSmon) having fun together.
Sérgio
"Weird, this place seems fine to me. Where is th-..."
??? "RHINOOORE!!!"
A piercing scream echoed throughout the whole island. The CSmon reacted to it by running away in fear. All of a sudden, what looked like a rhino came barging through, in seeable view.
??? "Stop it! Stop it, Rhinore!"
It seemed that not all of the CSmon had run away though; there was still a small, round, and white one standing in the rampaging rhino's path. It was calling out to the rhino to stop.
Sérgio
What a brave little guy...
White CSmon
"You're scaring all of the CSmon, and destroying the trees! STOP IT!"
Rhinore
"RHINOOORE!!!"
The rhino ignored his cries and continued to barge through in his direction.
Sérgio
"Watch out!"
I ran for the CSmon as fast as I could, grabbing him and rolling away before he was stomped flat by the beast.
Sérgio
"Are you okay, little fella?"
White CSmon
"What do you think you're doing?! Put me down!"
He replied angrily, while I was still holding the rather light and white being.
Sérgio
"Ah, sorry... But I didn't want you to get turned into a pancake!"
Before I had a chance to do anything, he jumped out of my hands on his own.
White CSmon
"It's none of your business! Hmph!"
He crossed his arms angrily... as much as he could with his stubby little arms, anyway.
Sérgio
Y'know, you could be a bit more grateful for me saving you...
Sérgio
"So, what's that evil beast doing here? And why is it rampaging all over this island?"
White CSmon
"He's not an evil beast! He's Rhinore, the guardian of this island. But some evil shadowy guy came here and turned him into a rhino! Then he attached poisonous fungus creatures onto him, which is what's making him wild and upset!"
Sérgio
Weird, didn't Crystana say the rhino was evil? Oh, whatever...
Sérgio
"Not to worry! I'm a superhero... Well, a superhero in training, so I'll save Rhinore for you!"
White CSmon
"No thanks; Rhinore has raised me since I was a newborn, so I'll save him!"
Sérgio
"B-but... it's my duty!"
White CSmon
"What are you even doing here, anyway? Who are you?! Besides Rhinore, there aren't supposed to be any humans here!"
Sérgio
"Hu... man? I have no idea what you're talking about, but shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking who someone else is?"
That's what mom taught me, anyway...
White CSmon
"Hmph, fine... My name is Serge. I was named after this island by Rhinore, as you might've already guessed."
Serge
"And this island was named after the leader of the Spirit Guardians, Sarjoun, so my name's pretty incredible, if I do say so myself!"
Sérgio
"Wow, really? My name is Sérgio, and I'm also named after Guardian Sarjoun! So my name's pretty incredible, too!"
Serge
"W-well, I can spit fire! Fire! I bet you can't do that!"
Sérgio
"Actually I just learned that I have the power to use fire a little while ago! I haven't had the chance to try using it yet, though..."
Serge
"W-wha..."
Sérgio
"We have so much in common; let's be friends!"
Serge
"B-but, I..."
He started to say, until he was interrupted by a loud roar from Rhinore off in the distance.
Serge
"What am I doing, wasting time talking to you?! I have to save Rhinore!"
Serge ran off after Rhinore.
Sérgio
"W-wait!"
Sérgio
I have to do something to stop that rhino guy! I must, since I am a superhero (in training), after all!
I ran after Rhinore as well.
Sérgio
He'll probably stop if I can get those fungus things off of him. Maybe I can use my fire on them when he runs by!
I stood there waiting, until Rhinore came close to where I was.
Sérgio
Okay, so last time, I created fire by facing my hand toward Nova. If I do that again, I should have fire once more!
Sérgio
"Here goes! Haah!"
I held up both palms toward Nova's light, and tried to focus all of my thoughts and energy to my hands.
Sérgio
"Take this! Jalapeño Cannon!"
I pushed my palms out in front of me, and released all of my gained fire energy at the rampaging rhino passing through, burning off all of the fungus!
... At least, that's what I wanted to happen. Instead, nothing came out of my hands, and Rhinore ran by completely unfazed by what I was doing.
Sérgio
"I-it... didn't work..."
Rhinore continued on, making its way to where some little CSmon were hiding.
Sérgio
Oh no!
Serge
"Fire Ball!"
Serge lit up some dry ground in front of Rhinore with fire, the rhino fleeing in another direction.
Sérgio
"Huh? What just happened?"
Serge
"I'm pretty sure those fungus things are controlling Rhinore's movement. They don't like hot things very much; that's why they won't go near the hot spring, either."
Sérgio
"Hot spring?"
Serge pointed off in the distance.
Serge
"You see that pool of water over there? There's a small hole at the bottom blowing hot air into it, making it hot."
Sérgio
"Oh, okay... But what's that thing covering it?"
Serge
"It's a large net we found washed up on the beach. We don't really know what to do with it, so we just leave it there when no one's using it. It can help some of the CSmon not fall in by accident, at least."
Sérgio
Hm... So the fungus don't like hot things, huh? But they won't let Rhinore into the hot spring! What should I do? My fire powers aren't working, and I doubt I'd be able to kick them...
Teacher "There are a lot more realistic ways you could help people, without having to use superpowers."
I had just remembered something one of my teachers told me yesterday.
Sérgio
Ah, that's right! Even if I can't use superpowers, I can't give up! I'm sure even Jalapeño Man has had times where he couldn't use his fire powers, either!
Sérgio
Think... What would he do in this situation...?
Sérgio
"... I've got it!"
Serge
"What? What have you got?"
Sérgio
"Serge, can you keep doing that fire ball thing like you did before? Try bringing him to the hot spring!"
Serge
"But that won't work! He'll just run away from th-..."
Sérgio
"Just trust me! I have an idea!"
Serge
"... Fine. This better work..."
Serge followed Rhinore, spitting more fire to guide him toward the hot spring. While he did that, I went to the hot pool and brought the net out of the water.
Serge
"He's going towards the hot spring now!"
Sérgio
"Okay, burn this net!"
I ordered him, holding part of the net up over my head.
Serge
"Are you crazy?! You'll get burned, too!"
Sérgio
"I'll be fine. Hurry up and do it!"
Serge gave in and did what I asked him.
Sérgio
Just as I thought, the net isn't hurting me! Even if I can't use fire, I can still touch it!
Like usual, as soon as Rhinore approached the hot spring, he instantly ran away from it. But...
Sérgio
... you aren't going anywhere this time!
Sérgio
"Olé!"
I flung the burning net at Rhinore, sending him in the opposite direction... which was the hot spring!
Both Rhinore and the net ended up in the hot pool, washing away the flames and causing the fungus to finally leave the rhino's body.
Sérgio
Yes! I DID IT!!!
Serge
"W-wha... I tried so many times to get him into the hot spring, but then I completely gave up on it... H-how did you...!?"
I turned to face the little round CSmon, and flashed him a smile.
Serge
"W-who are you?!"
Sérgio
"I already told you, I'm Sérgio... and I'm a superhero in training!"
End of Chapter 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Ch.1 Release Date: 2010-Oct 26, 2011~
Previous Ch.2 Release Date: Jan 23, 2012
Writer's Comments (July 27, 2014):
So this is chapter 1 of Sérgio's 1st Adventure! How was it? Did you like it?
Yeah, I know; the ones who have been following this series before are most likely thinking: "Hey, what happened to this chapter? Shouldn't this be chapter 3?!" And to answer that...
I decided to combine the first two chapters with a new "third" chapter! Why? Two reasons. First is because after finishing Paint & Treble, it bothered me how short these chapters were. For comparison, P&T's shortest chapter is chap 8, which is 5½ pages long (I consider that short). While S1A's two chapters were around... 4 pages long (4¼ and 4¾, to be precise). ... Yeah.
Second is that I didn't want this series to start like Paint & Treble did (yes, I'm mentioning it again). With that series, you only really get an idea of what's going on after reading the first two or three chapters. So I decided to make this first chapter particularly longer than the rest (maybe), so my readers can know what the story is about only by having to read the first one.
I really want to do this sort of thing with the other series too, so this might not be the only time I combine chapters together. Before I was satisfied with just getting chapters done, but I want to focus more on getting the series themselves done currently (which was what I should've been doing from the start...).
So yeah. Sorry for using this section for an information dump that isn't even related to this chapter. So... bye! Hopefully I'll be more motivated to work on this series next!
- CS-Masyet